MH370 Search Ends

In March 2014, the then Malaysian transport minister, Hishammuddin Hussein, fronted the world's press and told them MH370 had "vanished".

"There is no real precedent for a situation like this," he said.

Almost three years since the Boeing 777 disappeared from aviation radars the biggest mystery in the history of aviation remains unexplained, but the search for answers has been suspended.

Malaysia, China and Australia have jointly decided to end the search for the Boeing 777 and its 239 passengers and crew, six weeks out from the three-year anniversary of its disappearance on route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8th 2014.

It is not a decision that has come as a surprise — the end of the search was flagged last year and confirmed on Tuesday in a statement from the transport ministers of the three nations.

"Today, the last search vessel has left the underwater search area," the statement declared.

"Despite every effort using the best science available, cutting-edge technology, as well as modelling and advice from highly skilled professionals who are the best in their field, unfortunately, the search has not been able to locate the aircraft."

The search was hampered from the beginning.

It took Malaysia four days to reveal that a massive international effort to find the plane in the South China Sea to its north had been pointless, announcing for the first time defence satellite data showed the plane had taken a sharp turn left towards the Strait of Malacca.

Malaysian President Najib Razak later declared, "flight MH370 ended in the Southern Indian Ocean".

The search has concentrated there ever since, based also on satellite imaging from the British company Inmarsat.

About 120,000 square kilometres of the ocean bed have been searched to no avail, despite the more than $180 million cost of the operation.

Stopping search 'irresponsible': Voice370

Investigators from Australian Transport and Safety Bureau must be bitterly disappointed.

Last year, the head of the search, Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) Chief Commissioner Martin Dolan told the ABC he remained deeply committed and passionate about the search.

"Our preference very strongly would be to continue the operations until we find the aircraft," Mr Dolan said.

"But we're realistic that there comes a point when governments have to decide that they've spent enough resources on the task."

The families of the passengers and crew objected, when the announcement came on Tuesday. Understandably, they were bitterly disappointed.

Voice370, representing the next of kin of the 239 people on-board, including six Australians, demanded the decision be reversed and questioned why a further 25,000 square kilometre area had not been examined.

"In our view, extending the search to the new area defined by the experts is an inescapable duty owed to the flying public in the interest of aviation safety," Voice370 said in a statement.

In December, investigators from the ATSB highlighted a new potential search area of 25,000 square kilometres north of the initial site where the deep ocean search had been focused.

"Stopping at this stage is nothing short of irresponsible, and betrays a shocking lack of faith in the data, tools and recommendations of an array of official experts assembled by authorities themselves," Voice370 said.

© AAP: US Navy/Peter D Blair 

'Shame on officials': captain's sister

Flight captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah had flown with Malaysian Airlines since 1981, with more than 18,000 flight hours.

Much speculation has revolved around whether he may have been responsible for the catastrophe.

His sister Sakinab Shah has been a passionate advocate against that theory.

On Tuesday, she told the the media she was too distraught to talk but in a statement via email expressed her disappointment with the decision.

"I am incredulous, how could they abandon the search while leading the public and the next of kin up the garden path," she said.

"Shame on them, these officials, may God have mercy on their conscience."

Current Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said simply the plane could not be found.

"We need to suspend the search, until further credible evidence," he said.

Pieces of the plane have been located, including off the Mozambique coast — nowhere near where official operations were underway in the southern Indian Ocean.

The multi-million-dollar needle in a haystack search has in the end yielded nothing, leaving families in anguish.

Of the 239 passengers and crew on board the aircraft more than 150 were from China, 50 from Malaysia, seven were Indonesian and six were Australian.

There were also citizens from India, France, America, Ukraine, New Zealand, Iran, Canada, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Russia and Taiwan.